Soulja Boy Tell’Em: Hear Me Out

This interview went down before Lawrence Parker “welcomed” Soulja Boy Tell’Em to Hip-Hop. That’s cool and all, but the jury is still out for most rap listeners and Hip-Hop fans. Well, maybe not the three million that copped, and all that danced, to his “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” single.But no matter where you stand on […]

This interview went down before Lawrence Parker “welcomed” Soulja Boy Tell’Em to Hip-Hop. That’s cool and all, but the jury is still out for most rap listeners and Hip-Hop fans. Well, maybe not the three million that copped, and all that danced, to his “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” single.But no matter where you stand on the Soulja Boy as legit artist argument, the young lad handles his business. He insists his as yet untitled follow up to his 2007 proper debut, souljaboytellem.com, is going to “kill.” Then there’s his deal with Yums shoes for Soulja Boy designed kicks, a cartoon called, wait for it, Soulja Boy Tell’Em and whatever else he has his enterprising sights on (film, clothing). Besides the too typical rap as a means to get paid ambition, there is also that let’s say, riff, with Ice-T over the OGs comments on Soulja Boy killing Hip-Hop. While both sides of the Soulja Boy as Hip-Hop Murderer debate rage on, what is undeniable is the now 18 year old’s confidence. Either way, only time—and more hits—will tell whether DeAndre Cortez “ Soulja Boy” Way will leave a lasting imprint in the rap game or be relegated to footnote status. Read how he tells it.  AllHipHop.com: Tell me about this deal with Yum Shoes, how did it come together?Soulja Boy: I was on tour earlier this year with Chris Brown and Bow Wow, we was doing the UPC tour and we had a show in Dallas, Texas. You know I did the “My Dougie Remix” with Lil Will and when we was down there they were rocking the Yums and I ain’t know the Yum company was a Dallas based company. So I was like, Man can you get me in contact with one of the dudes…so got in contact with the owner and two weeks later the deal was done and we’re getting in crazy orders for them man. Finish Line, Jimmy Jazz everyone, and basically that’s how that whole situation came about.Lil Will f/ Soulja Boy Tell’Em “My Dougie” VideoAllHipHop.com: And how’s the shoe gonna work, are you designing?Soulja Boy: Actually I already designed both of my shoes the first year I designed was the Soulja boy shoe, the next shoe I designed was the S.B Money shoe and the Soulja Boy shoe is releasing in November, the S.B shoe releases early in 2009 like January, February and both of the shoes is crazy though. I just went in and processed this crazy shoe like what would I buy if I went inside of a sneaker shop, you know what I’m saying, and that was it.AllHipHop.com: Now, what’s up with this cartoon you got coming in November how’s that coming together?Soulja Boy: I was thinking to myself like I always wanted to do a video game or do a TV show and actually I didn’t want to do no reality show. I had a lot of offers for reality shows, I turned them down. I was like I wanna do a cartoon. I’d went to label and talked to Jimmy [Iovine] and he’s like well let’s make it happen let’s see if the idea for it so the first one we did was like the Lebron James just to check it out and we showed it to Jimmy he liked it, he got a good response so we got the creators and they’re working on it – the animators. I told them how I want it to look, when it comes out it’s gonna be stupid. I ain’t just want another regular cartoon, actually what this cartoon is this cartoon’s living inside of the real world so it’s gon’ be different, it’s gon’ be cartoons talking to real people, you know you don’t see that on TV I think we’re the first ones doing this so we’ll see how it turns out.AllHipHop.com: Does the cartoon have a title yet?Soulja Boy: Well I’m aiming for Soulja Boy Tell’em. We had two different ideas first I wanted to call it Bad Little Homies then I wanted to call it Soulja Boy Tell’em so I think we’re gonna stick with Soulja Boy Tell’em.AllHipHop.com: What’s going on with your next album, how far along are you?Soulja Boy: I got a record [“Donk”]. I got that in the streets right now, I just shot a video for it, got it on MTV. And I just did that to help me boil over into the second album which is my new project and it’s gonna be crazy, I went in with Polow for the first single so the first single is bananas. Like I don’t really wanna give it out but once it comes out it’s gon’ be stupid.Soulja Boy “Donk” VideoAllHipHop.com: Do you have a title?Soulja Boy: Nah, nah. [Laughs]. But it’s gonna be crazy, it’s like once it comes out it’s gonna take over just remember what I told you on this interview.AllHipHop.com: How involved is [Mr.] Collipark have in the recording/creation of the album?Soulja Boy: I ain’t work with Collipark yet. I got like 35 tracks, I just gotta pick the top ones but this album I really did myself, he wasn’t really in on this album. I went in and did the record with Polow myself and that was a crazy record, the first single, and then on all the other records I went out with different producers. The first album I did 90 percent [of the] production and this album I said I would look out. I produced Bow Wow’s first single [“Marco Polo”] so I told him hop on my album, I went and got that, I got Sean Kingston, Arab he on the first album so basically it’s just like the first album, I did what I did and I turn it in.Bow Wow f/ Soulja Boy Tell’Em “Marco Polo” VideoAllHipHop.com: Is there any update as far as your tiff or situation with Ice-T?Soulja Boy: Oh, yeah yeah, the situation with Ice-T. Comments were made and opinions were stated and basically I put out a video with me replying to everything and then that was it basically. After that I guess it was over with. AllHipHop.com: Kanye West came out and supported you…Soulja Boy: Yeah, yeah Kanye came to my defense I was like that’s what’s up, good looking out you know what I’m saying ‘cause Soulja Boy Tell’em is misunderstood by some people. I’m just gonna do my thing and I’ma just let me do me and whoever don’t like it, do y’all. Leave me out of y’all’s mouth.  AllHipHop.com: Now Kanye even went as far to compare you to Nas, what’d you think of that?Soulja Boy: Comparing me to Nas…nah. I don’t think I’m anything like Nas. I don’t think Soulja Boy and Nas need to be in the same sentence so I’m totally different from Nas. I guess what he was trying to say is he was trying to break it down in a different way. Some people didn’t understand, you know, there it is again being misunderstood, so I don’t know. But if he talking about music wise or rap wise or whatever, nah I ain’t nothing like Nas.AllHipHop.com: Obviously, people always start to say you hear the talk oh he’s a one hit wonder or he’s talking rap music how do you deal with that on a day to day? Does it really bother you or you zone it out?Soulja Boy: Man, I be busy you know what I’m saying… I be cutting checks, I be cashing checks. I’m working man; stuff like that, it really don’t get to me. At this level I couldn’t ask for more. One year ago I was nowhere now where I’m at now man if you were in my shoes those kind of comments when you wouldn’t even fear none of that. Once you get on a certain level all the hate is irrelevant, it goes away with what you have. The power that I got is amazing. You think of stuff that you probably never thought you’d see in life once you get to a certain level, a lot of stuff changes a whole lot of stuff changes especially last year.AllHipHop.com: I guess as far as the sound I haven’t heard anything but with this new album is there any change to your method?Soulja Boy: Man, I’ma go head and tell you know this new album is gonna kill. The numbers that I put up the first album, you know I went platinum three times, platinum on “Crank That” like five million ringtones…this album is just to kill ‘em. I’m comin’ back and I know the number one question is, What is Soulja Boy gonna do next, how he ‘gon come back? And when I drop they’re gonna be like, Man he did it again. A lot of people are gonna be like, damn!AllHipHop.com: You sound like you’re a confident dude were you this confident before “Crank That” took off, or was it like you saw what you could do and built it up or was it already in you?Soulja Boy: I mean I ain’t cocky or nothing like that I just look at it as doing it. I look at it as doing it for the right reasons, if you do it for the wrong reasons. This is what I do. So like before I got signed before “Crank That” came out I was doing shows all around the United States, I was getting like ten stacks a show before I got on. Once I got on radio shows I was like I’ma do it for free; I started doing promotional shows but like I been knew that I could do it ’cause I have talent and because of all the fans I had and I wasn’t even signed. I just took it to the next level and now I’m doing it on a whole ‘nother level like I’m going to London, going to Paris, copping shoe deals; this is what I love to do and I’ma do it until I accomplish everything that’s on my list of goals to accomplish.AllHipHop.com: What’s on that list?Soulja Boy: On that list.I still ain’t did the movie yet, I still ain’t did the video game yet. I’m doing the cartoon, I did the shoe deal, I ain’t did the clothing line yet and it’s a couple more things on there. I got my platinum plaque, I’m trying to go platinum in every country man, I’m tryna do it big. I’m just trying to take over everything man and I think one day I’ma see if they realize once I’ve done everything it’s gonna be an achievement.